February 2022
15Feb

US. Why Large Pension Funds Are Investing In Private Real Estate

Real estate agents and investors across the country, from California to Florida, have noticed an uptick in offers submitted by institutional investors (paywall). Large pension funds are competing with investors and homeowners to buy everything: single-family homes, multifamily, commercial spaces — few asset classes are exempt. These deep pockets cannot resist the action, and for good reason. As the co-founder of a company that invests in private real estate, I’ve seen how property investments can provide greater diversification, income...

February 15, 2022
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14Feb

US. Pension plans increasing their focus on allocating to diverse asset managers

U.S. pension funds are allocating more to diverse money managers and taking more steps to measure how their assets are allocated and articulate formal policies on their processes. This is the second year Pensions & Investments has surveyed the top 200 U.S. retirement plans regarding defined benefit plan assets managed by money management firms owned by women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans. As of Sept. 30, respondents said a total $120.7 billion was managed by WMDV-owned managers, up from $68.4...

February 14, 2022
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14Feb

US. A monumental year pushes assets up 17%

The 1,000 largest U.S. retirement plans had a banner year, propelled in large part by strong returns in public and private equity and other alternative investment strategies, as well as from higher contributions to defined benefit and defined contribution plans. In the year ended Sept. 30, aggregate assets of the 1,000 largest U.S. retirement funds rose 16.9% to $14.13 trillion, a big improvement from the previous year when assets managed to rise 6.6% amid the first year of the COVID-19...

February 14, 2022
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11Feb

US. New York’s public pension fund to divest from 21 companies over transition risk

New York’s public pension fund has announced it will divest from nearly two dozen stocks involved in shale oil and gas production. The New York State Common Retirement Fund, which manages around $280 bn on behalf of more than one million individuals, says the 21 companies have ‘failed to demonstrate they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy’. ‘As market forces and new policies drive the energy transition, we must align our investments with a profitable and dynamic future,’...

February 11, 2022
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09Feb

US. Pension risk transfer market posts record-breaking 2021

The U.S. pension risk transfer market had a record-breaking year in 2021, with an estimated total volume of between $38 billion and $40 billion, according to a report from Legal & General Group. Read also US. New York’s public pension fund to divest from 21 companies over transition risk In the insurer's latest Pension Risk Transfer Monitor, issued Tuesday , the U.S. PRT market's volume for the year well exceeded the total of $27 billion for 2020, and also exceeded the...

February 9, 2022
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08Feb

AstraZeneca moves to terminate U.S. pension plan

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Wilmington, Del., has announced plans to terminate its U.S. defined benefit plan. The company informed participants in its AstraZeneca Defined Benefit Plan on Jan. 25 of its intention to terminate the plan, according to a statement emailed by AstraZeneca's media relations team. The termination "involves transferring the responsibility for payments, recordkeeping and asset management to a qualified, carefully selected insurance company with expertise in the long-term management of pension benefits," according to the statement. The U.S. defined benefit plan...

February 8, 2022
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04Feb

US. Public pension plans stay on cost-efficient course – NCPERS

Public retirement systems continued to manage expenses in fiscal 2021, with many also reducing their assumed rates of return, according to an annual study released Wednesday by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems. In fiscal 2021, the pension systems averaged 54 basis points in administrative costs and investment manager fees, down from 60 basis points the year before. Read also U.S. corporate pension plan funding rises slightly in January – 2 reports Systems lowered their assumed rates of returns to...

February 4, 2022
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03Feb

U.S. corporate pension plan funding rises slightly in January – 2 reports

The estimated funding ratio of U.S. corporate pension plans inched upward in January as a drop in liabilities offset sluggish investment returns, two new reports from Wilshire Consulting and Legal & General Investment Management America show. Wilshire's monthly report noted that the aggregate funding ratio for U.S. corporate plans increased by 0.4 percentage points to 95.8% as of Jan. 31 from Dec. 31. The slight increase in funding resulted from a 5-percentage-point decrease in liabilities that was partially offset by...

February 3, 2022
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03Feb

US. Investment Opportunities for DB Plans Moving Forward

As corporate defined benefit  (DB) plans consider market volatility, interest rate movements and cash flow needs, there are certain investments and strategies that investment managers suggest they consider. Adam Levine, investment director of abrdn’s Client Solutions Group in New York City, says funded ratios for corporate DB plans improved quite a bit in 2021 both because of returns and discount rate movements, so more plans are moving into fixed income to protect their funded statuses. Closed or frozen plans, especially,...

February 3, 2022
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01Feb

U.S. public pension funds may turn to more ‘aggressive’ investment, report says

U.S. public pension funds will likely have to switch to more aggressive investment strategies in the coming years to fill funding gaps despite assets held by sovereign investors having grown to record levels amid the 2021 equity market boom, a new report said. On average, the difference between assets and liabilities at U.S. public pension funds, known as the "funded ratio," remains "unsatisfactory" at less than 75%, sovereign investor specialist Global SWF said in a report. To boost returns, many will...

February 1, 2022
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